Forums >Gears and Wears>Shoes: Rest, and Shelf Life
The Irreverent Reverend
The guys at the shoe store talk about giving shoes some rest, especially after a long run. A day or so to recouperate. (Wait a minute. Were they talking about the shoe, or the runner?) To help give my shoes rest, they suggest that I buy a second pair of shoes, to alternate days. Is there anything to this notion of "resting" a shoe, and thus using two pair at the same time?
And on the flip side ... is there any problem with not wearing a shoe for a month or so, and then getting back into the running routine? If it was stored in more-or-less normal conditions (ie, with the dust bunnies underneath my bed) will the shoe be fine? I don't see why not, but since the shoes are supposedly sensitive to work and rest, I wonder if they can get too much rest?
This all seems kind of ridiculous, I know, but I'm not sure what to believe about running shoes these days ...
Husband. Father of three. Lutheran pastor. National Guardsman. Runner. Political junkie. Baseball fan.
Lots of people alternate their shoes. I do. Not to give the shoes a rest as much as to let them dry out and de-stink.
I've been fine with shoes I put a few hundred miles on - let them sit for a year - and then started running in them again. No problems at all.
Your mileage may vary.
When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
Same as Bonkin - word for word
Also same as Bonkin, only read from right to left.
I have two pairs in rotation and find that they last slightly longer than when I had just one pair that I used for every run. Now that I run 5-6 days per week, I think that rotating shoes is more important.
Rebuilding my aerobic base....racing next year.....nothing to see here....move along now.
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I also rotate feet. When I run.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
I wish I could...
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The idea of resting the shoe in order to allow the foam to restore is nothing but sales talk. However, it's damn handy to have two different sets of shoes for two reasons: 1) if pair A is wet 2) using different kinds of shoes means that you vary the angle that stress is applied through the muscles etc so helps make you a bit more robust and may avoid some niggles.
Feeling the growl again
A few years ago I got like 6 pairs of identical Mizunos at the same time as I got a special team rate on them (limited time only). It was right before I stopped running seriously for a couple years, so by the time I got around to the last pair it was a couple years old. I had a brand new pair as well, same shoe, could not tell the difference.
I rotate shoes because it's nice to give them an extra day to dry out...they don't smell that way. Second, I run shoes to 700 miles. When a shoe gets to 500 miles, I only use it for runs <8 miles and rotate in a brand new pair that gets all the longer runs. So I get a couple hundred more miles on the older pair without having to use it for longer runs.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Running shoe companies have an annoying tendency to change models and/or discontinue them. Getting a few pairs of a shoe that works for you isn't a bad idea for this reason (though I have read that one of the reasons companies practice this annoying habit is so you will stock up). You can get a lot more miles out of your shoes than they tell you. If you are running healthy and nothing's bothering you, there is no reason to toss out a perfectly good shoe, because they tell you should after 300 miles or whatever it is. If the shoe is visibly wearing out and is getting lopsided, that is a good indicator it may be time (interesting that when I went to a more minimalist, flatter shoe, there was no longer the wearing on the heel that I used to get with thick-heeled trainers--I've been using one pair for 3 years and well over 1800 miles). Some people have posted that they know they need new shoes when a certain annoyance in their body pops up.
jfa
interesting that when I went to a more minimalist, flatter shoe, there was no longer the wearing on the heel that I used to get with thick-heeled trainers--I've been using one pair for 3 years and well over 1800 miles.
I try to keep a new pair and an old pair. When the old pair is noticeably worse than the new pair, it gets progressively demoted to short runs and eventually the trash can. Right now, my new pair has 10 miles, my old pair 1300 miles, but I'm still using my winter running shoes (2000 miles) because they are currently better than my summer running shoes. I think my feet changed. I may have to throw out both pair of summer shoes.
I run the same shoes every day. I put them on a Peet shoe dryer after every run. They are dry and stink free by morning, even if they went through knee deep water.
I have a pair that are still good for running, but the sole wore through to the cushion in the forefoot at 2735 miles, so I retired them.
As always, YMMV.